KGI: Apple sold a whopping 73 million iPhones last quarter

Just over a couple of weeks after investment firm UBS said Apple sold 69 million iPhones in the quarter ending in December, KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a decent track record on Apple-related industry predictions, has estimated the number to be 73 million, including around 42 million iPhone 6 and 16 million iPhone 6 Plus.

That’s a 43.1% increase year-on-year, and an 85.4% increase compared to Q3, 2014.

For Q1, 2015, Kuo is expecting the figure to be around 61.6 million, up 41.1% year-on-year, but 15.6% less than the previous quarter, something which isn’t exactly surprising given the fact that it was a holiday quarter.

As for the iPad, total Q4, 2014 shipments stood at around 21.4 million, down 17.8% year-on-year, but up 73.8% compared to Q3. That number is expected to be around 10 million for the ongoing quarter.

Lastly, just like others, Kuo is also expecting a March launch for Apple Watch, and is predicting total shipments of around 2.8 million units for Q1 this year.